The New York Pops

Performers

• ·· Charlie Bisharat, Violin
• ·· Gil Gutiérrez, Guitar
• ·· Jimmy Branley, Percussion
• ·· Kevin Thomas, Bass
• San Miguel 5
  ·· Doc Severinsen, Trumpet
• The New York Pops
  Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

Program

• Program is approximately 2 hours, including one intermission

Bios

• Charlie Bisharat
  
  While you might not recognize the name, you would instantly identify the violin artistry of Charlie Bisharat. His work has graced the albums of such pop phenoms as Alanis Morissette, the Rolling Stones, Jane’s Addiction, and Aerosmith. His diversity can be heard on the works of jazz and world music artists Strunz & Farah, Don Grusin, and Oscar Castro-Neves; on the soundtracks of films such as Swordfish, Texas Rangers, and Steal Big Steal Little; and on-screen performances in Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Drew Carey Show, and Friends.
  
  A Grammy Award–winning performer, Mr. Bisharat has toured the world time and again with jazz and new age musicians as varied as Shadowfax, Kitaro, Yanni, and John Tesh. His range of styles has led him from pop to jazz to classical, where he often substitutes with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. A published author, Mr. Bisharat wrote and recorded the jazz improvisational book and CD Beyond Classical Violin for Cherry Lane Music. Live appearances this year have included performances in Costa Rica, Spain, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Switzerland, and Brazil. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mr. Bisharat is in demand as one of Southern California’s busiest violinists. Television and feature-film scores make up a generous portion of his recording schedule. In addition, he has appeared as a guest speaker at the Henry Mancini Institute, and he often lends a hand with the Yamaha Music Education programs, both in the US and abroad.

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• Gil Gutiérrez
  
  A native of Oaxaca, Mexico, guitarist and composer Gil Gutiérrez has made his home for many years in the UNESCO World Heritage city of San Miguel de Allende. A guitar virtuoso, he has attracted a following throughout North and South America as well as Europe with his many recordings, film scores, and concert appearances. Since studying classical guitar at the Benito Juárez Autonomous University in Oaxaca with Jose Benitez (from Peru) and Jose Saldana (a native of Mexico), Mr. Gutiérrez’ interests have spread to many musical genres, including classical, jazz, flamenco, and son cubano. He brings a unique sensitivity and excitement to the music. Mr. Gutiérrez has toured South America and Spain with Ana Gabriel, Ricardo Arjona, Francisco Cespedes, and Pedro Guerra; has composed music for such films as El Cochero, Una Causa Noble, and El Alcazar de Chapultepec; and has performed at the Kennedy Center and the Mexican Cultural Institute of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, DC. Last year, he performed his original compositions with the New York Choral Society in the Mexican cities of Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanjuato. Mr. Gutiérrez has collaborated on more than 60 concerts with Doc Severinsen, appearing with symphony orchestras across the US and recently at the International Trumpet Festival with Arturo Sandoval in Mexico City.

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• Jimmy Branly
  
  Born in Havana, Cuba, Jimmy Branly grew up in a rich musical environment of Cuban flavors. He began his studies at the Conservatory of Music in Havana with Adolfo Guzman and at ENA (National School of Art). Jimmy’s professional career began at the young age of 15 when he met Hernán López-Nussa from the Afro-Cuban jazz septet Afrocuba. Mr. Branly started playing with the original band Cuarto Espacio, which combined fusion, rock, and Cuban music styles. Mr. Branly actually didn’t start playing Cuban music in Cuba until 1996, when he performed with Issac Delgado. Mr. Branly continued to evolve in his approach to playing the drums when he worked with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who taught him to play with the more sensitive range of the instrument. Mr. Branly decided to move to California after being exposed to the rich range of social and musical opportunities available in the US, and he has enjoyed a dual career as both performer and sound engineer ever since.

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• Kevin Thomas
  
  Since working and studying his way through Colorado and Las Vegas, Kevin Thomas has established himself among the creative forces driving Brooklyn’s jazz renaissance. Comfortable in a wide variety of musical settings, his diverse performance credits range from Mickey Rooney and Don Rickles, to Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, to Stefan Karlsson and Don Menza. When not touring with Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel 5, Mr. Thomas’s performance and compositional efforts can be heard as both a leader and sideman in local clubs, as well as on recent recordings by Chris Parrello, Nancy Danino, and Rachel Eckroth.

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• Doc Severinsen
  
  Carl H. Severinsen was born on July 7, 1927, in Arlington, Oregon (population: 600), and was nicknamed “Little Doc” after his father, Dr. Carl Severinsen, a dentist. Little Doc had originally wanted to play the trombone, but he had to settle for the only horn available in Arlington’s small music store: a trumpet. A week later, with the help of his father and a manual of instructions, the seven-year-old was so good that he was invited to join the high school band. At the age of 12, Little Doc won the Music Educator’s National Contest, and, while still in high school, he was hired to go on the road with the famous Ted Fio Rito Orchestra. He served in the Army during World War II and, following his discharge, landed a spot with the Charlie Barnet Band. When this band broke up, Severinsen toured with the Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman bands in the late 1940s.
  
  Doc arrived in New York City in 1949 to become a staff musician for NBC. After years of playing with the peacock network’s studio bands, he was invited to do a gig with the highly respected Tonight Show Band. An impressed conductor, Skitch Henderson, asked him to join that band in 1962 as first trumpet. Five years later, Doc took over as music director, where he stayed until 1992.
  
  Since moving to Mexico at the end of 2006, Doc has maintained a busy performance schedule, in the process discovering some very talented Mexican musicians. Together with Gil Gutiérrez, he has crafted an innovative and exciting program featuring classical Spanish with a jazz flair, Latino and American ballads, movie music, and gypsy jazz inspired by Django Reinhardt. A Grammy Award winner, Doc has made more than 30 albums, from big band to jazz-fusion to classical. In 2007, he released En Mi Corazón, his first recording with Gil Gutiérrez and Pedro Cartas, and in 2009 the trio released El Ritmo de la Vida.

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• The New York Pops
  
  The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of its highest subscription renewal rates. The New York Pops was founded by former NBC Music Director Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America’s rich musical heritage. In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops tours throughout the world and gives free concerts in New York City parks. The orchestra’s media projects include performing for the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC since 2005, nationwide radio broadcasts, and numerous recordings. The New York Pops’ extensive education programs allow thousands of public schoolchildren to participate in concert and music-making experiences at Carnegie Hall and in schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
  
  
  Steven Reineke
  
  Steven Reineke’s boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation’s most sought-after pops conductors, composers, and arrangers. In 2010–2011, Mr. Reineke begins his second season as Music Director of The New York Pops. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s annual Carnegie Hall concert series, he leads concert tours, recordings, and nationwide telecasts. In addition, Mr. Reineke serves as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto symphony orchestras and as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for 15 years he served as a composer, arranger, and conducting protégé of the late celebrated pops conductor Erich Kunzel.
  
  Mr. Reineke’s recent engagements include appearances with the orchestras of Houston, Toronto, Detroit, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Vancouver, and Edmonton, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC. He made his Boston Pops and Philadelphia Orchestra debuts in 2009, and appeared twice with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2010. He made his Hollywood Bowl debut in 2007 with the multifaceted entertainer Wayne Brady, and returned to the Hollywood Bowl in 2008 to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition, Mr. Reineke conducted, arranged, and orchestrated the music for Mr. Brady’s orchestral show, and played the same role in his collaboration with rock legend Peter Frampton.
  
  As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Mr. Reineke’s arrangements have been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer. His works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, with recent performances by the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics. In August 2008, his Sun Valley Festival Fanfare debuted with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony to commemorate the opening of the orchestra’s new pavilion. In 2005, his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were performed, respectively, by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C. L. Barnhouse Company, and are performed by concert bands around the world.
  
  A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City.

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